Production of the 2022 Lucid Air EV Started Today
An excited group of Lucid Air Dream reservation holders, Lucid dignitaries, and Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey were on hand today to watch the first customer-quality 2022 Lucid Air cars roll off the assembly line today. Analysts, investors, and members of the media, including Car and Driver, were also present. The move signifies that the Lucid Air sedan has received full FPA and FMVSS safety certification, and it paves the way for the first 2022 Lucid Air Dream Edition customer deliveries in late October.
Lucid’s facility, dubbed the Advanced Manufacturing Plant (AMP-1), not only builds the cars themselves, but a nearby Lucid Powertrain Manufacturing (LPM-1) facility also assembles major powertrain components such as the electric motors, power electronics, and battery packs. The facility fully assembles the battery pack (from cells on up), the entire motor, differential, and inverter assembly (an assembly small enough to fit into carry-on luggage), and the “Wunderbox” two-way onboard charger that supports 19.2-kW AC and over 300-kW DC fast charging.
A Lucid representative told C/D that complete control over both powertrain design and manufacturing is one reason why the Dream Edition can produce as much as 1111 horsepower and deliver up to an EPA-certified 520 miles of driving range.
Fueleconomy.gov
The limited production cap of the waitlisted Dream Edition is now set at 520 cars to celebrate that maximum range achievement, but the Casa Grande, Arizona, plant will also build the $139,000 Lucid Air Grand Touring. This model makes some 800 horsepower and has been certified to have a range of 516 miles when equipped with the standard 19-inch wheels and tires. Production of the lower-cost Touring and Pure models will follow after they receive their EPA certifications.
Lucid Motors
In 2023 the AMP-1 plant is set to begin production of an SUV that is known by the name Project Gravity. Little else has been made public, and a reservation portal for the SUV has not yet opened on the Lucid website. This delay seems like a strategic decision to allow the new AMP-1 plant to ramp up smoothly before a potentially higher-volume SUV is added to the production mix.